Book ~ "The Dog I Loved" (2019) Susan Wilson

From Goodreads ~ After spending years in prison for a crime she didn’t intend to commit, Rose Collins is suddenly free. Someone who knows about the good work she has done - training therapy dogs while serving time - has arranged for her early release. This mysterious benefactor has even set her up with a job in the coastal Massachusetts community of Gloucester, on the edge of Dogtown, a place of legend and, for the first time since Rosie's whole world came crashing down, hope. There she works to rebuild her life with the help of Shadow, a stray dog who appears one rainy night and refuses to leave Rose’s side. 

Meghan Custer is a wheelchair-bound war veteran who used to be hopeless too. Living at home with her devoted but stifling parents felt a lot like being in prison, in fact. But ever since she was matched with a service dog named Shark, who was trained in a puppy-to-prisoner rehabilitation program, Meghan has a brand new outlook. Finally, she can live on her own. Go to work. And maybe, with Shark by her side, even find love again. Two strong women on a journey toward independence whose paths collide in extraordinary ways. 

Rosie comes from a large working class family.  When she was working as a barista, she met and started dating Charles, who was rich and snooty.  Rosie fell in love with him and he started molding and controlling her, causing a rift between her and her family.  In a tragic accident, Charles is killed and his mother seeks revenge.  With no money and no one to turn to for help, Rosie ends up going to prison for Charles' death.  In prison, she eventually enters a program where she trains therapy dogs ... the first dog she trains is Shark.

Meghan was in the army and badly injured in the line of duty.  She is now a paraplegic living with her parents.  She welcomes the idea of getting a service dog so she can gain some independence back.  She is matched with Shark, the dog Rosie had trained.

Rosie and Meghan become friends and remain friends when Rosie is surprisingly released from prison with the help of an advocates group.  She is given a job as an overseer of an old historic house that is being renovated.  As Rosie adapts to life outside of prison and gets a dog of her own named Shadow, Meghan moves out of her parents' house and moves on with her life with Shark.

I've read a few dog-related books by this author and I thought this one was okay. I was attracted to it because it's about dogs.  I liked the writing style.  It is written from different points of view ... it's first person from Rosie's perspective and third person when it is from Meghan's, Shark's and Shadow's perspective.  The story jumps back and forth from the past to the present but it was obvious what the timeline was.  Because of this, it took a while to find out Rosie's full story.

Book ~ "The Dog Who Saved Me" (2015) Susan Wilson

From Goodreads ~ Cooper Harrison, a member of the Boston K-9 unit, never thought he would ever go back to his hometown, Harmony Farms. But when his faithful canine partner, Argos, is killed in the line of duty, Cooper finds himself mired in grief. Jobless, on the verge of a divorce, and in a self-destructive rut, Cooper has little choice but to accept an offer for the position of animal control officer in Harmony Farms.

And so he finds himself back where he started. Where his father, Bull, was once known as the town drunk. Where his brother, Jimmy, was a delinquent and bully. Where he grew up as "one of those" Harrisons. Forced to face the past while dealing with the present-including his brother's continued involvement in the drug business, Cooper does his job with deliberate detachment, refusing to get emotionally invested in another dog the way he had with Argos. Until he finds himself trying to rescue a wounded and gun-shy yellow Lab gone feral.

Cooper never thought he'd find himself going back in order to move forward, yet Harmony Farms is the one place where Cooper must learn to forgive and, only then, to heal. All with the help of a yellow dog, who has a history - and secrets - that Cooper must uncover.

Cooper was a cop with the K-9 unit in Boston.  His K-9 partner, Argos, is killed in the line of duty and Cooper has a hard time dealing with this.  He resigns from the police force, ends up divorced and heads home to Harmony Farms to take a temporary job as an animal control officer.

His father, Bull, is still in town.  Bull was the former town drunk and despite being on the wagon for 750+ days, Cooper wants nothing to do with him.  His older brother, Jimmy, has just got out of prison for doing time for dealing drugs and Cooper suspects he's back to his old ways.

In addition to catching a runaway donkey and monitoring a crazy cat lady, Cooper captures a feral dog that has been beaten.  He brings the dog back to health again so he can find out who would do such a thing.  Still grieving for Argos, he refuses to get attached to the dog and doesn't even name it.

This is the third book I've read by this author and I thought it was okay. I was attracted to it because it's about a dog (and I love dogs).

I liked the writing style ... I found it was well-paced and moved along well.  It is written from different points of view ... it's first person from Cooper's perspective and third person when it is from everyone else's perspective, including the dog.  The story jumps back and forth from the past to the present but it was obvious what the timeline was.

I had a hard time relating to Cooper.  I know he was grieving the death of his partner and companion but I found him too cold and distant.  I felt bad for the dog.  It has been beaten and had a hard time trusting humans again.

Book ~ "The Dog Who Danced" (2012) Susan Wilson

From Goodreads ~ "My name is Justine Meade and in my forty-three years there have only been a handful of people that I have loved. No, that's an exaggeration. Two. Two that I lost because of stupidity and selfishness. One was my son. The other was my dog." 

If there's been a theme in Justine Meade's life, it's loss. Her mother, her home, even her son. The one bright spot in her loss-filled life, the partner she could always count on, was Mack, her gray and black Sheltie; that is, until she is summoned back to her childhood home after more than twenty years away. 

Ed and Alice Parmalee are mourning a loss of their own. Seven years after their daughter was taken from them, they're living separate lives together. Dancing around each other, and their unspeakable heartbreak, unable to bridge the chasm left between them. Fiercely loyal, acutely perceptive and guided by a herd dog's instinct, Mack has a way of bringing out the best in his humans. Whether it's a canine freestyle competition or just the ebb and flow of a family's rhythms, it's as though the little Shetland Sheepdog was born to bring people together.

Justine didn't have a very good childhood.  Her mother had died when she was young and her father married their neighbour, Adele, soon after.  They moved into Adele's house and Justine could do nothing right.  She got married, had a baby and became a single mom while in her early twenties.  Now in her forties, all Justine has is her dog named Mack.  When her stepmother calls her to come home because her father is dying, she can't afford a flight so hitches a ride with a cranky trucker named Artie.  He bails on her along the way.  When he realizes Mack is in the truck, he drops him off in the middle of nowhere.  Justine must make her way to be with her father while trying to track down Artie and Mack.

Alice and Ed are in their sixties and were torn apart seven years ago by a tragedy.  They live in the same house but don't communicate.  They find Mack and take him in, and get attached to him.  Their mutual love for Buddy (aka Mack) may bring them back together.

This is the second book I've read by this author and I really enjoyed it. I was attracted to this book because it's about a dog (and I love dogs).

I liked the writing style ... I found it was well-paced and moved along well.  It is written from different points of view ... it's first person from Justine's perspective and third person when it is from Artie's, Ed's, Alice's and even Mack/Buddy's perspective.  The story jumps back and forth from the past to the present but it was obvious what the timeline was.

I liked the characters. I found their emotions believable. Justine's pain and fear were obvious when she was trying to find out what happened to Mack.  Plus she's dealing with the possible death of her father and having to deal with the feelings from the past.  Alice and Ed were still dealing with the tragedy from seven years ago and not doing a good job of it.

 This was an excellent story and I recommend it!  I look forward to reading more from this author.

Book ~ "A Man of His Own" (2013) Susan Wilson

From Goodreads ~ Rick Stanton was a promising professional baseball player with dreams of playing in the major leagues and starting a family with his young wife, Francesca, when World War II changed everything. Rick returns from the war with his body broken and his dreams shattered. But it was not just body and spirit he sacrificed for the war. He and Francesca volunteered their beloved dog, Pax, for the Army’s K-9 Corp, not knowing if they’d ever see him again.

Keller Nicholson is the soldier who fought the war with Pax by his side, and the two have the kind of profound bond that can only be forged in war. Pax is the closest Keller has to a sense of family, and he can’t bear the thought of returning him to the Stantons. But Rick and Francesca refuse to give him up. Instead, an arrangement is made: Keller will work as Rick’s live-in aide. And thus an unlikely family is formed, with steadfast Pax at the center. As they try to build a new life out of the ashes, Keller and Francesca struggle to ignore their growing attraction to each other, and Rick, believing that he can no longer give Francesca what she needs and wants, quietly plans a way out.

All three of them need healing. All three of them are lost. Pax, with his unconditional love and unwavering loyalty, may be the only one who can guide them home.

All Rick ever wanted to be was a baseball player.  When he finds a ten-week-old puppy in an alley, he adopts him and he and Pax (which means "peace") become best friends.  When Rick falls in love with and marries Francesca, Pax accepts her into their pack.  When the U.S. enters World War II, Rick is drafted and sent overseas.  Francesca does the right thing and volunteers Pax to the K-9 unit ... the deal was that Pax would be returned after the war is over.

After his parents died, Keller was passed from relative to relative before ending up in a reform school.  His great uncle takes him in but only because he needs the help in the fishing industry.  Life wasn't pleasant with his great uncle so he enlisted in the army as soon as he turned 18.  His role was to train dogs and he is assigned Pax and they become very close.

When the war is over, Rick is back home but severely injured ... needless to say, his dreams of being a ball player again are dead and he sees no future for himself.  Francesca does her best to take care of him but he is paralyzed, missing a limb and extremely depressed.  Keller is honour-bound to return Pax but he makes it clear to Rick and Francesca that he won't/can't give up the dog.  They come to an arrangement that Keller will move in and take care of Rick ... and all three will be able to enjoy Pax.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I really enjoyed it.  I was attracted to this book because it's about a dog (and I love dogs).

I liked the writing style ... I found it was well-paced and moved along well.

It is written from different points of view ... it's first person from Francesca's perspective and third person when it is from Rick's, Keller and even Pax's perspective.  Regardless of what point of view it was, it was obvious what the character was thinking and feeling.

I liked the characters.  I found their emotions believable.  Rick was dealing with what happened to him in the war, Francesca was soooo patient in waiting for Rick to go back to being the man she married (mentally and emotionally), Keller did what he had to do to be able to stay with Pax and ended up becoming part of their strange family and Pax was happy that he had all the people he loved in one house.

This was an excellent story and I recommend it!